Monday, October 17, 2011

&apos;Women, War & Peace&apos; gets faithful support - Murphysboro American

What if you looked at war as though women mattered? What if you looked at peace as though women mattered?

These two questions are at the heart of a five-hour PBS series, “Women, War & Peace,” a comprehensive global media initiative on the changing roles of women in war and peace. Actors Matt Damon, Geena Davis, Tilda Swinton and Alfre Woodard narrate.

The series was filmed in conflict zones in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia and Liberia. It premiered on Oct. 11 and continues to air on consecutive Tuesday evenings: Oct. 18, 25 and Nov. 1, 8 at 10 p.m. EDT/ 9 p.m. CDT on PBS.

Many religious organizations are supporting the series by hosting special events and screenings or helping to promote the film. Such organizations include United Methodist Women, Anglican Women's Empowerment, Women of the ECLA, American Jewish World Service, Center for Religious Leadership, St. Thomas More Center at Yale, Women in Islam, Interfaith Center of New York, Global Women's Project of the Church of the Brethren, American Friends Service Committee, Quaker Information Center, Christian Women's Peace Initiative and the National Council of Churches. Additionally, many Catholic universities, seminaries and interfaith organizations are promoting the film and organizing viewings.

Among the women spotlighted in the series are Afghan women's rights activists who are risking their lives to make sure that women have a seat at the table in peace talks with the Taliban; the courageous Bosnian women who broke history's great silence and testified about their rape and sexual enslavement; two extraordinary Colombian women who are braving death threats to remain on the gold-rich land that has sustained their community for centuries; and a group of Christian and Muslim Liberian women, led by activist Leymah Gbowee, who faced down the killers and brought peace to their country.

-- ReligionNews.com/ WNET

Survey Says

Post-9/11 veterans are mostly young adults, and like younger Americans overall, they are more likely than the general public to say they have no particular religious affiliation (30 percent vs. 18 percent).

-- Pew Research Center

Good Book?

“Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemptions” by Katie J. Davis with Beth Clark

What would cause an 18-year-old old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tenn., to abandon her life so she could move to Uganda? A passion to make a difference. Katie Davis left over Christmas break her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda, and her life was turned completely inside out. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, has gone on to adopt 14 children during her time in Uganda, and she completely trusts God for daily provision for her and her family, which includes children with special needs. To further her reach into the needs of Ugandans, Katie established Amazima Ministries. The ministry matches orphaned children with sponors worldwide.

-- Howard Books

Quote of the week

“Religion changes a human being from a small ineffective detached unit into a part of a mighty whole. It makes him serve others, and this service is returned to him in kind.” -- Roger Ward Babson

-- ChristianQuotes.org

The Word

neo-orthodoxy: A theological movement that emerged in the 1920s as a scholarly reaction against extreme Protestant liberalism, and drew heavily on the work of the Swiss theologian Karl Barth. It emphasized the sovereignty of God, the seriousness of sin and the revelation of Christian doctrine through Scripture. However, it denied that accounts in the Bible were necessarily historic fact.